Why is RFK Jr. Eliminating Life-Saving HIV Programs? Oversight Committee Democrats Demand Answers

Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. concerning the Trump Administration’s widespread elimination of HIV and AIDS-related research, vaccines, and life-saving programs.  The Ranking Members are seeking answers on why HHS is terminating programs aimed at preventing and eliminating HIV at home and abroad, and if these decisions are rooted in science or in misinformation and disinformation previously spread by Secretary Kennedy. 

“It is shameful that HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and the Trump Administration are working to dismantle our HIV research, care, and prevention programs aimed at eradicating the disease across the world.  This decision is absolutely reckless and puts millions of lives at risk.  Oversight Democrats refuse to let Secretary Kennedy’s reliance on conspiracy theories and misinformation threaten the health and safety of our public health.  We will fight back against every attack,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

 “The Trump Administration’s reckless decision to gut HIV prevention and research programs is not only scientifically indefensible—it’s morally unconscionable.  These cuts jeopardize the health of millions, both at home and abroad, and reverse decades of bipartisan progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  We’re demanding answers because the American people, and the global community, deserve better than politically motivated neglect of public health,” said Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi. 

“The Trump Administration’s actions threaten to upend decades of progress and scientific advancements that have taken HIV from a death sentence to a preventable and manageable disease.  Under your leadership, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made extensive cuts to HIV-related programs and slashed funds to bolster HIV research, prevention, and treatment in the United States,” wrote the Ranking Members.  “We are concerned that your motivations for disrupting HIV funding and delaying preventative services and research are grounded not in sound science, but in misinformation and disinformation you have spread previously about HIV and AIDS, including your repeated claim that HIV does not cause AIDS.”

These relentless attacks on HIV-related programs illustrate the Trump Administration’s complete disregard for public health.  Notably, the first budget request of President Trump’s second term included a $1.5 billion reduction in funding for domestic HIV programs, which if enacted could lead to more than 143,000 additional HIV cases in the U.S. within five years and 127,000 additional deaths.

The Trump Administration also eliminated the HIV prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), slashed a $285 million program developing a preventative HIV vaccine, targeted studies on Black and Latino gay men, and delayed grant awards related to HIV prevention.  To make matters worse, the Department of Health and Human Services then failed to notify state and local health departments about the status of these grants, causing chaos and delays for Americans seeking care.

On January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration halted all foreign assistance programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has been credited with saving 26 million lives since its first authorization.

“The Trump Administration’s decision to upend decades of progress combatting HIV and AIDS in the United States and throughout the world and your shepherding of these cuts as Secretary of Health and Human Services followed by you spreading serious misinformation about HIV transmission and prevention over the course of decades, going as far as to suggest that AIDS is caused by ‘poppers’ –a recreational drug– and not HIV transmission, as understood by scientists since the 1980s, we are deeply concerned that the Trump Administration’s HIV-related funding cuts are indiscriminate, rooted in a political agenda, and not at all in the interest of public health,” concluded the Ranking Members.

To understand the extent to which political agendas and conspiracy theories are driving the Trump Administration’s devastating decision to terminate these life-saving programs, the Ranking Members request all documents and communications related to the elimination of HIV-related vaccine research, prevention programs, and research grants by July 31, 2025.

Click here to read the letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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